Infection
by Preston-Tour
Summary: "Mr Crepsley, are you scared?" When Darren saw the feeble nod of the strongest man he had ever met, he knew they were going to be goners.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**_**; The Beginning**_

Jonathan Smarts finished feeding the fire, his eyes gazing over the shadowy glade in which he and his assistants had come to rest in. The orange flames emitted an eerie red tinge to the environment, the perfect setting for a horror story which would terrify the souls of his young charges.

Jonathan grinned at that, rubbing his hands together as he spied moving in the bushes. "Anthony? Are you still taking a piss?"

"Yeah, Jonathan," one of his charges, Anthony, mumbled, peeking out from behind the tree he stood before, "Bladder shyness should be a proper medical diagnosis."

"Whatever," Jonathan laughed, laying back and picking his teeth, "Where's the blood?"

"In Kathryn's bag," Anthony called, sighing with relief as he finally managed to coax his bladder into motion.

"Where is she?" Jonathan frowned. It had been a while since he'd last seen his youngest assistant, the female having went to bathe in a spring nearby. A gnawing feeling in his stomach bloomed and, for a brief second, he felt as though he should go look for her. However he thought better of his instincts and lay back out on a balding blanket, enjoying the heat of the fire.

Anthony emerged after a short while, the shaggy haired man sitting across from him and throwing a few more sticks on the fire, "Where's Kathy?" he asked casually, biting down his nails.

"No doubt crying," Jonathan laughed, "She didn't seem to like the novelty of killing and eating food."

"That's because she used to be a vegetarian," Anthony pointed out before quickly averting his eyes when Jonathan snarled and adding, "Sir,"

"I saved her from death. She's in my debt and thus she will do as I say," Jonathan pointed out, stretching back and scratching his toned abs.

A rustle from the clearing caused both men to sit up and stare out into the dark abyss. Anthony swore he could hear the slight ragged breathing of some animal, reminding him ever so slightly of a laboured horse. For a split second, the assistant thought he saw a hunched figure in the shadows but decided it was nothing, dismissing the 'figure' the minute he could no longer see it.

"Strange," Jonathan laughed, somewhat unnerved. Then again, it was the night and many of the woodland creatures came alive through the twilight. He, no doubt, was jumping at bluebottles. "Tomorrow, Anthony, we will head into the next city and pitch up camp there,"

"How come?" Anthony asked then added, "Sir," once more, seeing Jonathan's disapproving look.

"I love city life, particularly when there is a festival on," Jonathan grinned, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He longed for a good stiff beer. His new assistants were nothing but bother. Anthony was slow to learn and Kathy was just impossible; she nagged and had an opinion on everything and anything which Jonathan wished she would grow out of. The opinions of a woman were not as credited to that of his or Anthony's or Prince Paris or Seba Nile or Prince Mika. In this cruel, cold world a female would be forever under the authority of a male till she proved herself partaking in the most gruelling challenges like Arra Sails.

Jonathan grinned at her image, the muscular physique, the manly attitude, the bum… To think that reckless General Larten Crepsley somehow managed to tap that astounded Jonathan, particularly because he fancied himself a little bit more attractive than that Ginger haired rouge. Maybe someday Kathy might just become the Arra Sails of her generatio-

A scream unlike anything Jonathan had ever heard echoed through the forests, bloodcurdling and savage, almost feline in its high pitch. Anthony was staring out at the clearing, his eyes wide in complete and utter terror. "What's the matt-" Jonathan gasped as his eyes followed Anthony's to a hunched over woman glaring at them.

Instantly her ash-coloured locks identified her as the men's third companion; Kathryn. Her eyes blazed a bright crimson colour, lower jaw caked in the black-red blood of something she had clearly killed. Though Anthony couldn't identify the bloody smell in the clearing, Jonathan could; snake blood, the single most poisonous blood a vampire or vampaneze could intake. Its toxic properties had seen many a man turn savage after consuming that it became a rule to never drink it.

"Kathy?" Anthony smiled fearfully, taking a step towards the hunched over beastly woman, his hands outstretched to show he meant no harm. "It's okay, it's just us-"

Kathy lunged at her fellow charged, shouting and screaming at him as her jaw clamped around his throat, biting him like some demonic beast, tackling him to the floor whilst he flailed pathetically under her weight, "Jonathan!" he screamed in utter terror, "Help!"

Jonathan rushed forward, trying to pry her from his assistant only to be savaged by her blackened nails, her red eyes burning into him as her teeth ripped out his own neck.

He fell to the floor, amazed that he was not strong enough to kick her off as she ravaged him like a rabid wolf. "An-Anthony..." he wheezed, blood haemorrhaging out from his puncture wounds. His fading eyes caught sight of Anthony and terror overwhelmed him.

The boy he had blooded, had taken into his home and mentored as best he could, approached Jonathan, jaw open to reveal the blackness of his mouth, his own blood trickling over his parted lips as a set of scarlet monstrous eyes bore into him. "N-n-n-NO!" Jonathan screamed as Anthony's teeth ripped at the flesh of his face. "Argh!" he shrieked, the entire forest alive and panicking as both Anthony and Kathryn left their dead mentor and propelled through the woods, snorting and grunting as their maddened state of mind led them towards the first human settlement they could find.

**So a possible new story depending how everyone feel about it xD**

**I always wondered what would happen if some did indeed drink the blood of one of these animals which had been named as poisonous; snakes, cats and a bunch of other ones I can't really remember :L **

**I kind of imagined they would become uncontrollable and savaged, not too unlike those scary bastards from 28 days/weeks later O: HATE that movie. HATE. HATE. HATE. Too jumpy for me; I hid behind my fat assed cat the entire time. Anyway, so I thought perhaps having scary assed infected vampires for a few chapters would be a fun thing to right about, particularly when the main characters are trying to survive what is a sort of apocalyptic infection thingy. **

**Just fancied writing something completely different and weird so, if you think I should continue for a short story –no more than ten chapters I hope!- then please PM me and say so. **

**If you think I shouldn't then do say too (: I'd rather hear that it's a shit idea and end now then get going and never finish it :L**

**Anyways, I'm still deciding which characters I want to have in this one :/ Larten and Darren for sure and probably Gavner –I love him so much :L He's such a lovely fellow. Though if there is someone, Vampire or Vampaneze, that you'd like to see munched or survive, then please tell me :D**

**This was just a prelude too, not an actual chapter thingy :L If you like it the next chapter will be the DS characters (:**

**Anyways!**

**I better get to Volunteering. Speak to you soon!**

**Preston (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two; **_**Insanity spreading**_

Arra rapped her fingernails against the mahogany arm rest, gazing impatiently out upon the stage below as dark shadowy figures hurriedly scuttled like woodlouse and constructed the set for the next act once the interval had concluded. The seat beside her was empty still, irritating her ever so slightly. _How long does it take to get a tub of ice cream?_

Remembering she was actually wearing a dress, Arra adjusted her legs and faintly blushed as she pulled her shawl tight over the black floral design on her shoulder straps, her grey eyes catching sight of the oaf who had jumped at the chance for Kurda's ticket to the West End performance of Oliver! the musical.

Watching as Gavner, the ox, pardoned himself past a row of seated people, Arra was starting to regret bringing him…

"I got you an ice cream too," Gavner grinned, speaking far too loudly for the vampiress as she grudgingly accepted his gift of a melted pool of cream. "So…what's the plot again? I've forgotten."

Arra let out an irritated breath, "Oliver's mother dies after childbirth. He lives in an orphanage till he turns nine and is forced to work in an adult workhouse."

"Like Larten," Gavner grinned, "Only more Orphan-y."

Arra ignored Gavner's comment, not wishing to think about her old mate whilst she was out and enjoying herself as a free vampire once more. She continued, disregarding her baffled companion, "He gets sold to an undertaker having asked the foreman for more food. There, he attacks the undertaker's other apprentice after losing his temper with the other boy. Oliver is then forced to run away from the Undertaker, fearing his wrath, and begins the journey to London, cue interval and runny ice cream." She mumbled, hurrying to finish as the lights dimmed out once more. In her periphery vision she could see Gavner tugging at his tie before noisily eating his ice cream. _How can anyone slurp ice cream?_

Arra vowed to never bring Gavner to the theatre ever again, particularly as prestigious and award winning performance as Oliver! was.

Gavner chuckled loudly at the young performers, taken particularly by the slightly older boy wearing a top hat and an adult's jacket. Even with his limited knowledge of the story, the vampire instantly recognized him as the Artful Dodger, Jack Dawkins.

"_I've come a long way; I've been walking for seven days!" Oliver said excitedly, eagerly taking a slice of bread of which Jack had previously removed from a baker's tray. _

"_Oh, been running from the beak, has you?" Jack asked casually as he munched away at his own loaf of bread._

"_The what?" Oliver asked in a puzzled voice._

"_Now don't say ya dinna know what a beak is, flash mate," Jack tutted, walking along the stage with the orange haired boy, a wave of arrogance being emitted from his character._

"_It's a bird's mouth, isn't it?" Oliver frowned._

"_For your information, a beak's a magistrate," The artful dodger said matter-of-factly in a very thick Londoner accent._

"That boy there…the Dodger," Gavner attempted to whisper in Arra's ear, "Speaks like Larten used to do, you know, when Seba wasn't around to enforce correct phonology." Arra squeezed the bridge of her nose, shaking her head as she attempt to watch the performance.

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise, catching the vampiress' attention. She had seen this performance several times, once with Kurda and thrice with Larten, and never before known there to be such a loud continuous thumping during the Pick A Pocket Or Two song. She noticed the cast on stage look momentarily puzzled but continued anyway, a sudden buzz of movement backstage as someone no doubt went to bring an end to the obsessive banging.

No doubt it was just a Londoner thinking he was funny to attack the fire exit during a performance. Still, Arra couldn't help but feel a sudden pang of apprehension. Vampires had tremendous gut instincts and those who listen to what their innate core told them went far in the ranks of the clan. Arra was no exception to that rule; her intuition had seen her rise to a very respectable General, one of the few females to carve a name for herself which was on the same wave length as any male.

"Gavner?" Arra whispered to her companion who, judging by how bolt right he sat in his seat, was having similar uneasy feelings at the sound of the banging which had become more intense as the seconds flitted by, "Something doesn't feel-"

A scream of anguish interrupted her thoughts followed by the most animalistic shrieks she had ever encountered. The performers on stage became startled, the small boys looking no doubt at their stage directors for signs to continue.

A sudden blur suddenly darted on stage, a hunched over fat man with eyes of the most ludicrous red and a jaw caked in dark black blood. Fangs dominated his upper jaw, glistening red in the theatre light. In seconds the beast –for no human could relate to that fiend- lunged for Oliver, grappling him to the floor and savagely biting him.

The audience screamed and rose as several more rabid people poured from the wings, charging furiously towards them, screeching volatilely as they savagely clawed and bit and the crowd.

"What the fuck are they?" Gavner gasped as he watched in true terror; Oliver rising from the ground, spewing up blood and joining the other beastly beings.

"Mad Vampaneze?" Arra offered, untying her heels and abandoning them as Gavner took her bag and led them towards the mass of panicked humans who had cause a blockage of the fire escapes.

"More like Zombies; run!" Gavner roared, ripping a chair from the stand and smashing it into one of the bloodied monsters. "The rafters. Climb the balcony! Now!"

He hadn't needed to make the command, Arra already scaling the thin walls of the theatre, Gavner swiftly joining her as the humans they had once been enjoying the show with met a bloody end at the three main exits.

They reached the ceiling, both punching through with mild effort, squeezing through narrow holes till they were greeted by the cold night air, the streets of London alive with screaming. Arra couldn't believe the scene as she peered over the side of the roof, gasping in shock and horror as these twisted bloody creatures charged after sane humans, chewing their flesh and either killing them or turning them into whatever it was they were.

"What's happening?" Arra asked in terror, catching Gavner's disturbed manifestation.

"Zombies? Vampires? Vampaneze? How the fuck should I know!" Gavner hissed, jumping back as one of the vicious monsters spied him watching her and so darted into the building, "We need to get back to the hotel and arm ourselves now, otherwise we're doomed."

Arra nodded, already setting off at a jog in her bare feet. They leapt between buildings, their speed intensifying as the cries of the humans below became louder and more unbearable. Spying a child being chased by her parents, Gavner had to close his eyes and continue forward for a good few seconds; the image of the daughter in her bloody nightdress haunting him to the core, seeing her parents bent over her and draining her of blood even when he had shut himself off.

Without sparing a second, the two leapt against their hotel wall, climbing down to their window and breaking in. Arra rolled forward, instinctively adopting a fighting stance till she was certain it was clear. Instantly she threw off her dress and pulled on a pair of trousers and a jumper, Gavner, for once, not ogling her body as he poured out the contents of a rucksack and began packing survival equipment; bandages, a needle, thread, a torch, an entire shelf of canned foods from their kitchen, matches, map.

Arra did the exact same, filling her bag with bottles of blood and water, removing Gavner's vodka from the fridge –it would make a good antiseptic-, water proof jackets and then collecting all their weapons. "Larten is reasonably close," she commented as she wrapped her belt of knives around her waist, seeking out his aura as she readied herself to evacuate.

"He'll have to wait; we need out of this Hellhole," Gavner commented, the two vampires freezing when they heard the hotel door being smashed down, screams instantly following. Arra could swear she heard the receptionist but chose to ignore it. "We have to go now."

"Go where?" Arra spat, tying her tougher boots whilst Gavner equipped himself with two sets of daggers.

"For Vampire Mountain?" Gavner suggested, waiting for Arra at the window, tapping his foot restlessly whilst she seemed to take her time. Finally she appeared by his side, worming out of the window first and snaking her way up the wall. Gavner gave their room a quick look over for anything important they may have missed then threw himself out after Arra, taking to the roofs once more and flitting faster than they had ever done before.

**Honestly I have no idea where I'm going with this; well that's a slight lie because I have an ending and several daring escapes in mind but, apart from that, I'm winging this like an English talk so suggestions are welcome xD**

**Thought I'd have this 'infection' thingy contaminating the humans now to make for scary ass beasties with red eyes, fangs and a lust for biting and drawing blood –so really the stereo typical vampire monster :P**

**As for characters in this I'm thinking Bro-mance between Larten and Gavner, Arra, Darren and Prince Arrow (Could totally see him being right up for a good survival story). I'm definitely wanting a vampaneze to be munched- as suggested ^^- but most importantly I'm wanting to have this finished in under twenty chapters, preferably ten…yikes….**

**Thank you to the six reviewers! Means a lot (:**

**Now, off to the doctors T-T My Mither thinks I might have ripped something in my eye because it was friggin agony walking to work and back this morning; I looked like a right pleb with sunglasses on on a cold September/nearly October morning -_- Bad times.**

**Wish me luck!**

**Preston **

**;(**

**(Sad smilie with twitching eye xD)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three; **_**Dissemination**_

"Darren! What have I told you; I hate peanut butter! Where in the Gods names did you purchase such an atrocious concoction?" Larten roared furiously, gurgling a bottle of water repetitively and spitting upon the earthy floor whilst his assistant bit down hard on his lip, fighting back the array of insults burning up in his mind. "Why can you not cook me something satisfying? What manner of an assistant are you?"

"Well, maybe if you weren't such a fussy eater and told me what you wanted priory to demanding something quick, I would have had something nicer waiting for you!" Darren interjected, shaking his head at his mentor in dismissal. Despite being an assistant for a few years now, Darren couldn't adjust to his mentor's habits. They had only just left the Cirque and already Mr Crepsley's complaining was gnawing at Darren's brain and, to put it simply, 'Doing his head in'.

"Vur, if you're hungry, we've a BBQ. I'm sure my wife could through a few extra beef burgers on the Barbie?" a kindly middle aged man, Graham Stevenson, offered.

Larten's eyes narrowed and he glared at Darren once more. Vampires were not meant to mingle with humans, particularly those with families. It was unsafe for both parties but, of course, Darren jumped at the opportunity to camp by the Stevenson's and socialize with children of a similar age to him.

"That is a tempting offer-"

Instantly Larten regretted speaking to the human as he grabbed the vampire by the shoulders, pulling him out of the shade of an old oak and dragging him under the sun towards a Volkswagen Campervan. Of course, Graham joked that the van's colour was a tone dimmer than the vampire's hair, much to Darren's amusement.

Larten forced a weak smile at Graham's wife, Deloris; a typical house wife who, despite being worn down by three mixed aged children, held the physique of an attractive woman. She instantly placed more meat on the burning barbeque, the smell making the vampire's mouth water slightly; Darren's cooking was little to be desired and Larten noticed his trousers were starting to feel looser than normal. He was sure his assistant was deliberately starving him.

"Thank you, Deloris," Larten smiled, being seated under the pull-out parasol of the campervan as the Stevenson's eldest son, a young man of eighteen, handed the vampire a beer from the cooler. Shaking his head as the boy searched for a bottle opener, Larten cracked the top off with a strong canine and took a happy sip. Though ale was more to his liking the vampire could not resist the taste of a good lager.

Darren's main reason for volunteering to share their camp grounds became obvious to Larten as he spied the Stevenson's middle child, a pretty red haired daughter who was showing Darren some strange musical contraption used for storing musical pieces on. Darren came across as eager and excitable, clearly faking his laughter when she crack a joke, all of which amused Larten as Graham informed Larten of the latest football news and the vampire pretended to be interested.

…_**Later…**_

Darren patted his bloated belly, hearing it gurgle in response from one too many sausages. He noticed Mr Crepsley was struggling a little with his own stomach, the usually well-mannered vampire belching loudly so many times he saw no need to keep excusing himself.

"We must be moving on," he yawned, Darren mimicking and stretching out upon the earthy ground, "But, perhaps a nap would serve us both well,"

The assistant looked up at his mentor and frowned; it was only just turning midnight and they had several more miles to cross before hitting the next major human city for blood. Plus if they slept through the night they would never sleep through the day.

"You sure?" Darren grumbled, seeing the vampire stripping out of his shirt and trousers before crawling under his blanket with a groan.

"Yes, Darren. I wish to sleep off what I had just gorged myself on," he snapped irritably, pillowing his head with an arm as he closed his eyes tightly. Soon enough, Darren could hear the vampire's deep breathing, the orange haired man snoring ever so slightly with a peaceful and almost angelic expression on his face. Darren, however, couldn't help but glare at the ugly scarred man, hatred still brewing in the pit of his stomach as he thought of how Darren had lost his entire existence to him. He had been nothing but nice, yes, but no man could be judged on his latest actions when his earlier ones were so evil.

Fighting down the urge to cut Larten's throat with his own knife, Darren lay down a few yards away from him, still glaring as his own eyes began to grow heavy. He cursed himself for eating as much as he had, rolling over and soon closing his eyes…

…_**.Through the night…**_

A scream.

Darren shot out of bed, gasping slightly. Was it a nightmare again? He looked around the clearing, spying the Stevenson's campervan over turned in the distance. How did that happen?

Frowning, Darren turned to his left and spied Mr Crepsley still sound asleep. The vampire hated being awoken, particularly for human related affairs. It was still reasonably early too, maybe around two or three in the morning? Darren wasn't so sure, his body clock wasn't as tuned as his mentors yet.

"Mr. Crepsley?" Darren grumbled, frowning when the vampire actually rolled over to avoid him. "Mr Crepsley?" he called slightly louder this time, giving the vampire a good shunt with his foot, "Mr Crepsl-"

A twig snapped, Darren turned around quickly and frown. Standing a good few yards away was Graham Stevenson, the man caked in blood with two beady black eyes glaring deep into Darren's. The assistant stood completely still, stone terrified at this fanged monster before him. Within an instant another crooked being was beside Graham; Deloris, the wife who had stuffed both he and Larten with the finest burgers the vampires had ever sampled. He noticed that her neck was oozing black blood from a horrible bite mark, Graham having one of equal ferocity on the exposed flesh of his arm.

They just stared at him with savage black-red eyes, bloody saliva pouring from their mouths and staining their sleeping garments. When Darren took a step back they barked and snarled angrily, hunching over and readying to pounce.

"M-Mr Crepsley?" Darren stammered as tears of fear filling his eyes when three more of these beasts joined the Stevenson parents; Darren didn't recognize their faces at all. He was hardly sure if they were even human; they looked more like zombies in their muddy, bloody state. "M-Mr Cre-" Darren could no longer formulate words, taking tiny steps back till he was right beside his unmoving mentor.

Graham shrieked and darted forwards, Darren tripping over his mentor and yelping in terror.

With lightning speed reactions, Larten was on his feet, his foot colliding with the side of Graham's head, knocking him into a tree as he took a small knife out from his underwear and launched it at Deloris, colliding right between her eyes and bringing her to a screaming stop.

Darren had no time to comment on the absurdity of carrying a knife in one's underwear, two the beasts pouncing on him as he helplessly used a branch to keep them back. One man's jaws nearly caught his finger but the vampire wasn't stupid; he had seen enough horror movies to know what being bitten meant. "Mr Crepsley!" he shrieked, watching as Larten struggled to fight off a blonde lady who was savagely attempting to snap at his flesh, missing his throat by mere luck as Larten stumbled backwards.

"Darren!" He roared, rolling clear and lurching to his feet, using his nails as a dagger and ramming them deep within the woman's gut, his other hand holding her teeth away from his flesh till she finally ceased to live…if she was alive in the first place.

Hearing Darren's branch snap and the half vampire yell in terror, Larten rammed the body skewered on his arm against the two monsters attacking his assistant, using her as a shield whilst Darren hopped on his back instinctively.

With a swift kick he freed his arm and began running, abandoning his clothes and weapons as he charged through the woods, the remaining two beasts hurling after them at a speed which had the vampire panting to keep ahead of.

Darren gasped when he spied more of the monsters joining the chase, screaming blue murder as Larten's speed accelerated in response. The vampire didn't even have shoes on, his toughened feet cutting up badly as adrenaline took over. Nearly nine joined the hunt for Larten and Darren, tumbling down a fern littered hill at determined speeds, adding to another seven who appeared at the other side, flanking the fleeing vampires.

Once free of the forest Larten doubled his speed, losing the monsters behind him and Darren as, within seconds, he hit flitting speed and vanished.

**So a little more fast paced there; I do love a good chase scene :L Hope this was okay for you all. I can't believe I actually have 11 reviews for this O: Honestly thought it was going to be a bit of a flight risk you know? Zombievampires are a little mental :L So thank you very much!**

**I hope I'm managing to write something creepy; I was never very good at description and stuff in school; probably because it bores me when I read it in a book xD**

**Next Chapter's going to be Arra and Gavner again, joined by Arrow. Like I said in an earlier post; he could totally be a Zombievampire hunter for sure :L **

**Oh deary me, there's been a helicopter crash? :/ Watching the news while I write this. What a shame. Reminds me when a cable car fell up in the Mountains :/ such a shame.**

**On that morbid note; have a nice day :S**

**Preston (:**


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note; been a long time since I updated these stories so I'd recommend skimming through the previous chapters to update but, to be honest, I never do xD_

**Chapter Four; **_**Firearms**_

Arra and Gavner hadn't stopped running. They dare not.

Behind them were monsters, screaming and spreading their plague through cannibalism. They savaged their brethren, their kin, eating them before charging at the next poor innocent victim. Arra felt nauseous as they passed the corpse of a child, laying near headless in the gutter; clearly they were killable but was it worth the risk of being bitten to get so close to them?

"House!" Gavner roared over the cutting wind, squeezing Arra's hand as they changed their position and made for a house in the suburbs of the city which seemingly was intact. They slowed their flitting, vaulting the white picket fence and dropping to their bellies. They crawled swiftly but silently, alert like terrified dogs as they made their way towards a garage.

Gavner stood against the wall, scanning the area before quickly slotting a nail into the padlock and cracking it open. He ran in, followed by Arra, before slamming the door closed.

The garage was dark, dim light from an eerie orange street light entering from under the large shutter door. In the centre of the room was a large dark blue car with a built in trailer boot. Arra was not one for cars, though Gavner clearly was in love with the manly exterior.

"A Toyota Hilux. Beautiful car. Heavy purpose. Amazing," Gavner whispered with a wide grin before suddenly going pale at the sound of a blood curdling scream. Instantly, he and Arra dropped to their bellies and crawled under car, quaking with fear as they fell silent. They were panting badly, alert to the slightest footstep as they held each other's hand.

_We have a car._

Arra looked at Gavner curiously, the two using their telekinesis to communicate rather than to risk being over heard.

_I can't drive well –_ Arra admitted, squeezing Gavner's hand as the screaming got closer. If they were going to run it needed to be now.

_They'll storm the house. Gotta make a move _– Gavner nodded, slowly making his way to shuffle out from under the car.

"**Arra! Gavner!"**

The two froze.

"That sounded like…"

"Kurda!" Arra finished, the two scurrying out from under the car, "He sounded like we was in trouble!"

Gavner looked at her and cursed. "Have a peek outside. I'll find the keys," he nodded, running over to a work table which had a massive bowl of random keys hidden in the back corner. Cursing once more, he frantically began pulling and chucking keys out of the bowl, searching desperately. The screaming was getting louder, pressure mounting as his hands shook violently.

"**Arra! Help!"**

Arra cursed, running out garage door, not as cautious as once before, scaling the wall till she was upon the roof. Looking out upon the street, she couldn't believe the sight before her.

Running down the centre of the road and limping badly was Kurda. Arra was sure both he and Prince Arrow were supposed to be hunting together a good few miles away. Had they been driven to the city? Where was Arrow?

A scream of ferocity caught Arra's attention as she gasped at the bloody, hungry mob chasing Kurda. Without thinking, her hand shot up into the air, waving frantically, "Kurda!"

At the sight of Arra, Kurda near collapsed. He had been running for so long, a deep cut in his upper thigh bleeding freely and tiring him out, making his stomach feel nauseated bizarrely. He hobbled towards Arra as she ran to his aid and with her arms around his waist he was able to run slightly faster, the mob howling in anticipation.

"This way!" Arra instructed, throwing him over the picket fence before vaulting herself. She practically dragged him along the garden grass and threw him inside the garage, slamming the door and barricading the door shut with a heavy piece of machinery.

"Gavner! We have company!" Arra shouted as she ripped off the sleeve of her shirt to tie around Kurda's wound.

Gavner cursed as he heard a blood thirsty scream from outside the garage shutter, those enraged beasts charging at the thick metal door and denting it. He whitened almost at their determination to get inside; they were relentless.

He gasped as Arra threw Kurda into the car and buckled him in before jumping in herself, the general going back to frantically trying to hot wire the engine.

"I couldn't find the keys!" he panicked slightly as he heard the back door being bashed violently, the garage windows smashing behind them. Kurda ducked down cowardly, Arra quaking in fear. She had faced down many foes without a blink but even her nerves were being pushed to the limit as Gavner desperately pulled at the wires. "I don't know what to do!" he whined, "It wont work! I can't get it!"

Arra's eyes shot forward as the shutter door began to break, the relentless beating it was receiving buckling it in the middle.

Gavner had frozen in fear as a group of five bloody mouthed humans glared hungrily inside the car. "A-a-arra?" he whimpered.

Suddenly, the beasts charged, Arra shooting into action as she leant forward, placed her fingers next to the ignition and clicked them. To her astonishment, the engine began roaring powerfully, Gavner instantly slamming his foot down and running over those savage, Zombie-like, beasts.

"Whooohooo!" Gavner cheered, powering down the suburban street fearlessly, "When did'ya learn that?"

"Larten," Arra panted, her heart racing as she slouched back in her seat. There was an over whelming sense of relief, feeling safer than ever before in this car. She made a mental note to buy one herself if she survived this mutated apocalypse that was.

"How're you coping, Kurda?" Gavner called into the back, clearly pleased with himself as he knocked over another monster with a grin. "Kurda?"

Arra looked to her left and gasped.

Kurda's leg was saturated in foul black blood; his body quaking violently under his seat belt before more blood vomited onto the back seat, catching the back of Gavner's neck and making him turn around.

"Shit!" Gavner gasped, turning back around as he narrowly missed another car on the road, "Arra?"

"Gavner, we left the knives back in the garage!" Arra suddenly realized as Kurda's body thrust forward furiously, snarling hungrily as Gavner shrieked in fear, hunched over the wheel as he watched his friend turn. The speed Kurda pushed forward locked his seat belt

Arra let out a scream, having taken off her shoe and using it to hit his head.

"Kill him!" Gavner yelled.

"I'm trying!" Arra retorted, desperately trying to evade his snapping teeth.

"What the hell are you doing? Use your nails!" Gavner snapped, stalling the car as Kurda kicked his seat violently.

"I'm trying to damage his brain!" Arra snarled, hitting Kurda hard and aggravating him more.

Gavner stared over at her in disbelief, "He's not a Zombie! Fucking kill him!" he shouted before gasping as a gun fired and a bullet tore through the window, cutting through the headrest of Gavner's chair.

Kurda's body slumped forward, a gaping hole in his forehead. Arra poked his body with her shoe once more before following Gavner's gaze out of the cracked windscreen. Her heart lifted as she saw before her a beefy bald man cradling a riffle in his hands and several pistols strapped to a thick leather belt. He casually walked around the side of the car, opening the back door and pulling Kurda's body out before joining Gavner by the front passenger side.

Gavner was amazed, jaw dropped in shock.

"Drive," the man's deep voice ordered as his bear-like hand ran across the arrow tattoos he wore so proudly upon his scalp.

"Aye, Prince Arrow," Gavner nodded, still shaking badly as he reignited the car and drove forward at a fast speed.

"Just Arrow, Gav." Arrow stated, reclining in an almost relaxed manner, gun in hand, "Tonight we're gonna break a ton of rules; starting with firearms. I think it'll be forgiven if we don't risk fighting these beasts hand in hand." He handed Arra a pistol which she received with almost disgust, making the beefy vampire laugh, "Chin up, Arra. Rules are meant to be broken sometimes. Now, Larten is close; lets pick him up and find a safe place for the day."

"Is there anywhere safe?" Arra questioned as her mind wondered to her ex mate out in this apocalyptic world, struggling to survive.

"**You tak' the high road, an 'll take the low road an 'll be in Scotland afore'ye! Where me an' my true love will never meet again on the bonnie, bonnie banks of **** ******!"**

**Guess the last part of that lyric and I'll reward you with reviews (:**

**Going to try and finish this story in the next few days; maybe another three chapters or so till it's completed!**

**Please tell me how it was; reviews, PM, whatever, just tell me if I've done an okay job or where to make amends! (:**

**Preston **

**(:**

**-Also, is it obvious I hate Kurda? xD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five; **_Vault_

Darren was flung forward head first into a large wooden door. He gasped, cradling his skull before turning around angrily at Larten.

"What the Hell?" he snarled, feeling a bump beginning to form from impact. The orange haired vampire didn't respond, contorting on the floor as he attempted to catch his breath. He had never flitted for that length of time, let alone with Darren's heavy weight pressing him to work harder. His muscles had given up completely.

"Come on," Darren sighed slightly, climbing down a short flight of concrete steps to his master's side, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. He could see he was shattered, still panting as they made their way back up to the large wooden door.

They stood before one of the many Banks of London though from Mr Crepsley's description Darren knew this was more of a vault for personal possessions than financial matters. The orange haired vampire wanted to take something from within his own vault, something to aid their survival. Darren was curious, as always.

In the distance could be heard the shrieks of those strange monsters. It caused Darren to flinch, involuntarily pushing himself closer to his mentor.

"Scared?" Larten teased, wheezing slightly as he pushed Darren off of him, staggering towards the door and pushing it open with ease; the staff had obviously vacated the premises in a hurry to not lock up.

"No," Darren spat, pulling the collar of his jacket up against his neck to hide the Goosebumps, "Are you?" he asked in a softer voice, watching as his mentor scratched his naval hair.

Larten laughed as he opened the second door with a little force, holding it open for Darren before closing it well.

The reception was a real state; papers scattered everywhere and stuck to the floor by foul smelling blood. Randomly, sitting upon a chair, was a severed hand which appeared to have been chewed off judging by the splintered bones. Despite a good look around, Darren couldn't find the rest of the body…he wasn't sure wither to feel disappointed or disgusted.

They both stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of the devastated hall, a work place where people with families had come in for another gruelling day dealing with customers and complaints with the intention of going home. It caused a lump to form in Darren's throat.

"Come, Darren," Larten nodded, leading the boy forward towards another door. Though he no longer possessed the key to his vault he remembered exactly which door led to his and was confident that he could crack it open somehow.

Darren kept close to his master, making sure to close all the doors behind him as they continued down a never ending corridor with heavy metal doors every other yard on either side. Eventually, Mr Crepsley stopped before one door in particular, lightly brushing his fingers across a slight scuff next to the handle. "This one is mine…" he said softly, using his nails to crack open the lock.

Darren looked at his mentor curiously before his eyes fell into the black room. He followed his mentor in, hearing the vampire searching for the light switch. With the light on, Darren couldn't help but gasp aloud.

Over the years, Larten Crepsley had gathered up and stashed away a mountain of valuable collectors' items. Perhaps the most striking artefact Darren could see was in a large Aztec-like vase; a tall parade flag with the bold red and black symbol of the Nazi party. Darren was thankful when he spied a Soviet flag, British Flag and French Flag beside it, however. Mr Crepsley kept his cards close to his chest constantly that Darren didn't know anything about his past.

"Hey, is that you!" Darren grinned, pointing at a painting of an orange haired young man and an attractive woman hanging at the very back of the room.

Larten growled, "Considering it is my vault I would assume it would be me," he scoffed, not bothering to turn around as he rummaged through one of the many boxes till he found what he was looking for.

Slowly, he pulled out a dusty green pair of trousers and slightly lighter khaki coloured shirt which he threw on over his underwear. It didn't bother Larten particularly that he had been walking around in a pair of ripped briefs for the past few hours but he knew it was impractical considering the given situation, particularly with Darren present.

"Wow! Is that a Victoria Cross?" Darren gasped, staring at the breast of his mentor's shirt, eyes wide in astonishment at the bronze cross pattee hanging on his chest.

"Yes," Larten nodded, pulling up the braces of his trousers, "For valour in the face of the enemy," he added almost smugly, tying a heavy brown leather belt around his waist. Once more, Darren looked on astounded as the vampire pulled a pistol-like gun from within the box. He studied the nozzle before clicking off the safety and tucking it into his belt.

"I fought the Nazis," Larten explained, rolling his eyes as he pulled out a second gun and handed it to Darren to study, "A Luger P08 Pistol. It was the first gun I have ever owned."

"I thought vampires weren't allowed to use missile weapons?" Darren frowned, handing it back over, glad to see his mentor now equipping himself with an array of knives and rope from several other boxes.

"Can a Christian man not still join the army to fight for King and Country?" Larten asked his assistant as he rummaged through yet more boxes, searching. "Can a Jewish man not use a shot gun to save the lives of his family as his house is invaded?" the vampire shrugged, "I would never use a pistol unless it was mandatory and, even then, I refuse to shoot a vampire or vampaneze or a foe such as a bear or wolf; such battles should be won fairly,"

"Oh," Darren nodded, having never really thought much about exceptions to the rules instilled upon the likes of himself and Mr Crepsley. As he watched his mentor, Darren soon realized that the unusual green attire he had donned was actually some sort of military uniform, most probably from when he 'fought against the nazis'. That was definitely something Darren wouldn't drop; his interest was sparked.

A gruelling shriek was heard from within the building; one of the monsters no doubt. Both Darren and Larten paused momentarily, looking back towards the door. Slowly, Larten raised a finger to his lips before continuing to rummage through boxes of blatant shite.

Darren's heart started to race, gripping a knife Mr Crepsley had handed him. The door was slightly ajar and he had the feeling it was too late to run over and close it now.

Larten's calmness was driving Darren mental; cool as a cucumber as always as he finally found the box he was searching for. Grinning silently, he continued to rummage, back turned as, eerily slowly, a bloody hand wrapped around the threshold.

Darren began whimpering, fear squeezing his heart as, slowly, the door opened to reveal a fat, bald man with blood saturating his shirt and smeared all around his jaw and nose. His eyes were crimson, the pupils dilated and darting backwards and forwards between the two vampires.

Coolly, without so much as a flinch, Larten lifted his gun and fired, the bullet breaking the skull and causing the man to fall to the floor before he had a chance to attack.

Darren looked back at Larten, white with fear as the vampire pulled on a heavy black leather motorcycle jacket, winking playfully at his terrorized apprentice before covering his eyes with a pair of avian sunglasses.

"Let us go," he nodded, jumping from his chair and picking up Darren. The half vampire skittishly stepped over the corpse, waiting for it to rise again and gobble them up. When it didn't, relief flared in his stomach momentarily; these beasts died.

The streets of London were desolate, Larten and Darren standing to take in the view before taking the other's hand and stepping out into the early morning sun, the sky a sea of blood red.

"Are you scared, Mr Crepsley?" Darren whispered fearfully, squeezing his hand as a distant scream was heard.

Larten didn't answer him, eyes trained forward as a car tooted in the far distance. The lights flashed, Larten's hand darting for his gun whilst the other took a protective grip over Darren.

He needn't be worried.

"That's him!" Gavner grinned, pointing at Larten excitedly, "No other twat walks around with hair that colour!" he cheered, tooting his horn as Arrow grinned slightly back at Arra.

"Lar'en!" Arrow grinned, leaning out of the window and waving.

**So not a lot of action in this chapter; I promise there will be some Vombies in the next chapter –hehe I invented a word!**

**It's pretty late in Scotland atm and I want to have an early night so, nighty night; hope this chapter wasn't too much of a droll for you all :/**

**Preston (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six; **_Union_

"So, Darren, how did you end up with this grumpy cun-"

"Watch your tongue, Gavner," Arra scowled, eyes trained forwards as she scanned for any signs of zombies.

"I was gonna say C U Next Tuesday but, whatever," Gavner chuckled, looking in the rear-view mirror at Darren, squeezed between Arra and Larten to keep them from 'Going at it', as pointed out by Arrow.

"Well, I stole his spider," Darren started before being interrupted by Arra.

"You are shitting me? I did nearly everything to get rid of that stupid spider for some attention and a child steals it and gets made an assistant! Bollocks," she cursed.

"Perhaps I did not wish to converse with you for fear my ears would be assaulted by your grotesque vocabulary," Larten growled in defence, cursing, "Darren, move over. You are not giving me any room,"

Darren looked down at his mentor's legs in disbelief, "You've not got any room? Look at me; I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place!"

The car laughed slightly at that. Darren had made an impression for sure. Giving the current situation Arrow hadn't called Larten up on such a young assistant. There was little point really; with the way Kurda was taken he highly doubted there would be enough vampires left to justify executing Darren or his maker for such a grave mistake; he would be shooting his race in the foot if he did.

However young Darren was, the boy was positively curious. Never before had Arrow met a boy so quick to establish himself in a car filled with senior members of the fold.

Darren instantly bonded with Gavner. There was something almost brotherly about how joyful and friendly he came across as. Despite the apocalyptic nightmare outside, Gavner's talkative conversing within their vessel really set a warm ambiance.

"Where are we heading?" Arrow asked, Larten and Arra bowing their heads at the Prince's question. "Come on now, Larten. Don't start all that Princey shit. Where are we heading?"

"Sire, I-"

"That's Arrow to you, Larten. Not 'Sire'," Arrow grumbled a little before looking behind him at Larten once more, expectantly, awaiting an opinion.

"Water, Sire. I believe we should head for some sort of harbour and take to the sea. I doubt these beasts will be able to swim," Larten nodded before looking at Arra who had hissed ever so slightly.

"What about food? Water? _Blood_?" Arra said with obvious distress.

"We'll have to drink from each other," Gavner offered, chewing his lip in thought.

"I thought vampire blood was poisonous?" Darren frowned, looking up at his mentor. The orange haired vampire didn't reply, however, merely scratched his scar as he mulled over the situation.

Arrow offered an explanation to Darren, however.

"It will make us violently sick, yes, and if we drink too much, drive us mad. But the shits and sick will be worth it if we ration ourselves carefully," the Prince explained bluntly, Darren looking green at the mere thought. "It wont be pretty but it's something we might have to consider. As for food, there will be seagulls and at least one type of fish we can eat. Worst case scenario, Gavner's got a good set of lungs so I'm sure he would dive for crabs and lobster,"

"Anything you want, Arrow," Gavner nodded as he continued to drive onwards.

A silence fell upon the car.

They drove for a good few hours, Arrow dozing off and Darren's head hanging forward. Everyone was tired, particularly Gavner who hadn't an opportunity to sleep as he manned the wheel. He looked back at Larten, pillowing his head against the window as he, too, slept.

"Larten?" Gavner hissed in a loud whisper, "Larten?"

The orange haired vampire screwed up his face, his scar crinkling as he yawned. "What, Gavner?"

"Can we swap?" Gavner asked, looking at the vampire in the rear view mirror, "Please?" he added when he saw Larten rolling over to sleep once more, "Just for a few hours. I'm almost asleep at the wheel and if we crash then-"

"Larten, take the flipping wheel," Arra grumbled, looking at the orange haired vampire with eyes caked in sleep, a sneer upon her face from having been disturbed. Larten was set to argue but sighed, nodding as Gavner came to a stop.

"We switch quickly. Three seconds outside, tops." Larten instructed, grasping a tight hold of the handle and leaping out of the door as quickly as Gavner did, the two jumping passed each other and throwing themselves back inside, Larten restarting the car and continuing onwards.

Darren looked up groggily, cold as Mr Crepsley's warm shoulder left his side and was replaced by the space consuming bulk that was Gavner. Almost instantly, the general was asleep and snoring loudly. Darren grumbled, trying to sleep once more.

Arra had given up attempting sleep and stared out of her window curiously, the forest's heavy foliage protecting them from the noon sun as they travelled. After a while she looked across at her ex mate, unable to not smile at his stubbly brown jaw. His orange hair looked daft, it always had, and it amused her how dark his facial hair was in comparison.

"I see you smirking at me," Larten said softly, Arra jumping as she caught sight of those hazel-green eyes staring at her in the rear view mirror.

"You have a funny face," Arra stated in her abrupt way, shrugging her blush away almost professionally.

"Well…so do you," Larten retorted weakly, Darren unable to hide his smirk as he pretended to sleep, curious to listen to their conversation.

"Childish, Larten," Arra scoffed, laughing quietly as the scarred vampire stuck his tongue out at her and pulled a stupid face, "You're ridiculous,"

"I guess one must act ridiculous to survive a Zombie invasion," Larten smiled, scratching his scar as he relaxed back into his seat.

Arra frowned at that, "You believe that's really what's going on? Zombies?" Larten shrugged but didn't answer because he wasn't honestly sure what he thought was going on. "Don't tell the others but I think they are. I mean, Kurda just changed. He became so savage that…I thought… I am not one to experience fear, Crepsley –you know that the best- , but it was rather unnerving. One bite and…" she looked up at him, not catching his eyes as he seemed to busy himself with staring out on the road, "Are you afraid?"

"You should sleep, Arra. We need a tigress like yourself at her most vigilant tonight. I shall wake you if I find something but until then, please rest." Larten nodded, evading the question as he turned in his seat and smiled at her, "Also, I was joking, too. You do not have a funny face. You are as beautiful as when I first sparred you upon those bars,"

"I know," Arra said smugly, winking as she curled her legs to her chest and slept.

**Just a short update before the group begin to perish. Yes, that's right. Death. Zombie Deaths to be exact (:**

**Since this chapter's so short I'm going to ignore it from the final count and get my ass moving to complete it. The more observant will have noticed I've deleted a few stories. This is because I'm a lazy SOB :L**

**I want this one finished though; there's a lack of Zombies on this forum! :D**

**TTFN**

**-Ta Ta For Now!**

**Preston (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning- Some character deaths :/**

_Chapter seven; the first few falls._

Early evening rolled on and as always, Darren was the first to wake up. He yawned and stretched, cracking his leg muscles before feeling a sudden stabbing pain in his lower belly. He winced, realizing he hadn't taken a piss for a long time. Carefully, he peeled off Gavner's thick legs from across his lap, stretched once more then carefully opened the door.

Perhaps, wondering off during a possible Zombie apocalypse wasn't the best idea from the get-go but who would he ask? Mr Crepsley was sound asleep, slumped over the driving wheel, Arrow was out cold with his weapons in his hands, Gavner was snoring loudly and Arra…well Arra was a girl and thus it was embarrassing to ask her.

He walked off through the clearing, looking for someplace a little sheltered to relieve himself, all the while keeping his senses tuned up to the possibility of attack. That was his biggest fear; he could be turned and then he would end up mauling a hole into Mr Crepsley.

Shuddering, Darren couldn't believe himself. Less than a week ago, murdering Mr Crepsley was something he fantasised about but now it was a big fear to hurt the man.

Finding a smaller, rockier area, Darren looked around carefully, eyes wide and alert for the slightest movements. Feeling somewhat at ease, he shuffled forward and unbuckled his trousers.

As he prepared to form a squat a distinct rustling from the bushes caught his attention. He paused, heart in his mouth as his body completely froze into place. Darren began to panic.

Hurriedly, his pulled up his trousers and turned to run, a scream formulating at the tip of his tongue-

"Peace, Shan. It's me," Arra called, amusement in her voice as she approached him.

Darren could do nothing but leer at her smirk, "You scared the Hell outta me!"

"Keep your voice down," Arra stated, casually strolling over to where Darren had once stood and pulling down her trousers, "Like regular, first thing I have to do every evening," she grumbled to herself.

Darren tried not to blush hard, looking away as he heard a distinct spluttering before a strong torrent of liquid hitting dry stone. He was only reminded about his own need as Arra let out a satisfied groan.

"You should have told one of us that you had to go; we're all vampires," Arra stated as she pulled up her trousers and stretched out her back, "Your turn," she added. Darren usually would argue at being bossed around but the call of nature proved too intense. Thankfully, Arra took to being a look out a few yards away, paying him no notice.

Using a few leaves, Darren sorted himself out before following Arra, feeling a lot more comfortable as they made the walk back to the car.

"So, how do you and Mr Crepsley know each other?" Darren asked bluntly.

Arra looked at him in shock, shaking her head, "You're very bold, Shan. Some would find you nosey but I quite like you," she laughed, retying her greasy black hair, "Larten and I were mates for a very long time," seeing his blank face she elaborated, "We were married, in vampire terms," she explained.

"What!" Darren gasped, eyes wide in almost disgust. Mr Crepsley was just gross and Arra, well, Arra wasn't exactly what he'd call a 'beauty' either. Ew, sprung to mind. "Why did you guys divorce?"

"Larten kept his socks on in the coffin," Arra stated with a small smirk, "No, it was a consented thing. He had a lot on his mind back when he was a youth,"

Darren was amazed by that, clearly as he stared at Arra with wide eyes. It was truly a revolution. "Do you two think you'll mate again?" he asked boldly, pushing the boundaries of his mentor's personal life.

"I think our biggest concern is surviving," Arra smiled softly, leading and falling silent as they began the trek back through the forest. Darren kept as quiet as possible, his breathing the only sound he dared make and, even then, it was silent. Which was kind of nice in a way. There was something relaxing about following Arra's cat like walking, the soft sounds of the foliage crunching under her feet-

"_**RUN!"**_

A gun shot.

Screams of shock.

Arra froze, a hand grabbing for Darren and dragging her close as she heard those horrible, shrieking of those monsters.

"That was Arrow," Arra gasped, her hand trembling on Darren's shoulder. Immediately she checked she had her knife, listening as best she could.

A second gun shot. Then a third. Then a fourth.

"_**Get your arses out of here you fucking idiots! RUN! NOW**_!"

Tears started falling down Darren's face as terror seized him, "Do we go back?" he asked, quaking badly, holding Arra's hand for comfort and reassurance.

"No, Darren, we run now whilst we have a head start," Arra said firmly.

"What about Mr Crep-"

"_**No**_, Darren!" Arra shouted, scooping the boy up and running just as a three bloodied monsters broke through the clearing and pelted after them. "Fuck!" Arra screamed, running as quickly as she could with Darren weighing her down.

Behind them, savage and relentless, those beasts persuade at an alarming speed that saw Arra working hard to keep up her pace.

"They're catching up!" Darren shouted, looking over his shoulder at the set of three snarling jaws, screaming to sink their teeth into both he and Arra.

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded and one of the monster's heads literally exploded, brains and blood flying everywhere. Darren followed where the bullet had come from and gasped in utter delight at the sight of Gavner running beside them, run in hand as he manoeuvred through the trees at their left flank.

"Arra, pass me Darren," Larten's voice suddenly called, Darren's head snapping to the right just as Larten appeared right beside them, Arrow's riffle in his hand. Darren's heart sank at that; the Prince was gone.

"You just worry about shooting," Arra growled though gladly accepted his hand in hers, feeling Larten's powerful legs picking up even greater speed and so dragging her onwards.

Gavner fired a second shot which only managed to graze a beast's leg which saw it stumble into the other monster, giving them vital seconds to widen the distance between them.

"Do you guys hear running water?" Gavner called out as the group continued running through the woodland, desperate to get out in the open and flit.

As if on cue, they skidded to a halt and screamed a frustrated curse. A water fall was before them, white water rapids thrashing at speed. It would be suicide to drop in but it was suicide to stand their ground…

Arra dropped Darren onto his feet, taking out her knife as Gavner passed over procession of a small pistol, rising it up with an almost professional air to her. Darren huddled behind Mr Crepsley without a weapon himself.

As the two beasts broke through the clearing and charged towards them, Larten and Gavner shot them down easily. It was the third, fourth and fifth zombies that had the group struggling. Just as the fifth was taken down, a sixth, seventh, eighth appear and, before long, the group were backed up against the cliff's edge whilst twenty of the fiends stalked forwards. Black blood oozed from their mouths, Darren crying softly against Mr Crepsley's back whilst Gavner and Arra took to the defensive –protect the youngest member of the group.

It was in that second, that horrifying moment of reflexes and instinct that they slipped up.

As a beast charged forwards, Larten took the bait and leapt a yard out with his gun, using the thing like a mallet and slamming the monster hard across his dirty head.

In the break of the group's formation, the blood thirsty pack lunged forwards and went for Darren.

Everything happened in slow motion for Darren.

Screaming loudly, their teeth parted and a sea of blood and drool ran down their chops, the beasts dived for him. He could smell the stench of rotting flesh on their breath, blood spraying on his face and hair. He barely had time to register his companion's expressions but could hear them well.

"_**Darren!**_" Mr Crepsley roared, making to dart back to his side to rectify his error, though had to stop in a bid to fight of the onslaught of teeth that threatened himself.

Gavner tried to shoot them but, like Larten, ended up in a grappling match.

Darren prepared for the impact of teeth, no means of defending himself.

Arra stepped in front of him, crying out with almost maternal instinct as the first pair of teeth sank into her throat, a second ripping her shoulder, a third tearing her hair.

Larten's scream of utter horror rocked through Darren as he felt himself being pushed back off the edge of the cliff. He became aware that he was falling, seeing Arra's lifeless body coming after him. Above, he could only just hear Gavner and Larten's yelling over the roar of the water below, which he collided with.

Gavner looked across at Larten who was violently fighting his way through the group, shooting at close range, hammering their heads with the butt of the rifle, kicking and punching fearlessly as he only just managed to avoid being ripped apart like Arra had. A few zombies had leapt in after Darren but they would never survive the harsh water below.

"Larten! We've gotta jump!" Gavner roared furiously, fighting equally as hard, "It's our only shot! We're better off dead than one of them!"

Larten didn't need to be told twice as he whistled loudly, both he and Gavner throwing themselves backwards over the cliff and slamming into the water, swept away quickly.

As Larten made a sudden break for the surface for one last breath, kicking off on a rock, he saw the zombies throwing themselves in after in a frustrated rage, desperate to get after them, logic overrided by their need for flesh.

With that, Larten's last thought was the intense pain in his left leg which he'd slammed against a rock on his downward plummet. Then, everything seemed to go black.

_**Next chapter ASAP!**_

_**Please tell me if this one was okay, I'm a little out of swing with writing :/**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight; _Hopelessness_

Darren gasped, choking up a lungful of water, retching out a bit of blood as he did so. He couldn't see, smell, hear. It felt like his entire head was flooded with water, blocking all of his senses.

More vomiting, water shooting out of his nose as he collapsed onto his face, the rocks of the embankment cutting his tender, wrinkled skin. He wheezed for breath before finally managing to inhale and exhale without drowning.

He rolled onto his back and groaned loudly as he panted. His chest left heavy, constricting his breathing further. With a painful cry, Darren pushed himself off his back on sat up. His legs were still partially in the freezing water and it too all of his energy to pull them free.

"Hello?" he croaked out, choking once more as he searched for signs of his friends. "Anyon-" he wheezed and retched once more, tears streaming down his face as his body contorted and twisted painfully.

"Darren?"

The boy peered over to person folded over a rock in the centre of the river, Gavner's brown hair soaked and bloody from being bashed around badly by the white water rapids. He groaned as he lifted himself up and waded over to the bank, the water calmer suggesting they were miles downstream from where they had fallen.

"Gavner!" Darren grinned in relief, offering his hand as Gavner joined Darren, thumping down on his backside and ringing out his sole shoe –the other one no doubt on its way to the Atlantic Ocean by now. "Where is Mr Crepsley?" Darren asked worriedly, scanning the other rocks for his mentor.

"We had each other's hands but," Gavner lifted up an obviously broken wrist, "We collided into a stone and I lost him. He might still be in the water for all I know," he admitted, tears springing in his eyes, "I let him go…I let him go…" he sniffed, his good hand tearing at his hair as he let out a mournful sob.

Darren wrapped an arm around Gavner's thick neck and held the man to his shoulder, "We need to move. Can you walk?"

"Yeah," Gavner croaked, carefully standing and helping Darren to his feet, still crying from guilt of losing his grip on his best friend.

"Come on. He might be further down the river," Darren smiled, nodding, "You know how indestructible he is, ha," he offered, taking Gavner's hand as the two stayed side by side, refusing to move more than a few inches from each other's side as they walked down the bank of the river.

= X =

Larten dragged her body out of the river, his left leg broken at the ankle and throbbing painfully as he moved.

"Do not leave me, you selfish bitch, do not leave me like this!" his voice was harsh and broken, his vocal cords swimming with the amount of water he had swallowed and inhaled. "Wake up!"

The scooped her up, his ankle burning with protest as he strained to get her out of the water. It snapped further and Larten screamed in agony; he could feel the bone pierce out through his skin, too afraid to look down as the water around him turned an off-red colour.

With one final shriek of pain, he threw Arra's corpse the last few yards, dragging himself on his hands and knees to be by her side.

"Wake up," he demanded, checking her grey flesh for a pulse, the vicious bite marks coating her body had been fatal and the drop had seen her die almost instantaneously. That didn't stop Larten attempt to resuscitate her pushing down on her heart so ferociously that he nearly broke her rib cage in the process. "Wake up! You stupid _**bitch**_! Wake up! _**Wake up**_!"

He slapped her face hard when his demand went ignored and he fell back on his bony behind, crying into his hands silently.

For what felt like an age he sat there with the body before going over and attempting to wake her again, apologizing for slapping her, promising her a fantastic life if she were to wake up now, begging her to be in his future. When nothing seemed to bring her back, he ripped open his short sleeve and offered her his wrist.

"Make me one of them. I do not care, as long as I am with you!" he croaked, pressing the flesh of his wrist to her lips, prodding her with it, rubbing his skin against her teeth, trying to coax her into turning him, "Arra, please! _Wake up_! I will have you anyway! _**Please!**" _he shook her shoulders before resigning to her death after numerous attempts to bring her back.

He lay his head on her cold chest, wrapping himself up in her lifeless arms and just lay there with her, not caring about the gathering crowd of bloodthirsty beasts which surrounded them both.

"I am not scared," Larten whispered under his breath, eyes catching those bloody red beasts behind him, "You do not scare me,"

**Almost done this! :D Few more chapters and that's my last fiction. Well, Kind of last. I'm joint writing something with the Rebel_Spong so hopefully get that done soon (It's a great deal. They write it and I just occasionally cast an opinion. **

**God I'm lazy o_0**

**Anyways, back to this story!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine; **_The makings of a martyr_

Even if Larten wanted to move, he couldn't. His ankle was, well, fucked. There was no other word to describe the useless ligament. Particularly now that the bone had broken skin and was freely bleeding out onto the gravel of the river beach.

Their foul smell assaulted his nostrils, metallic and bloody with a hint of stale sweat and saliva. They clearly did not stop to use the bathroom for they reeked of excrement and urine. Even now, Larten was sure he heard the sound of liquid splattering upon the ground. Disgusting.

"I am not afraid," Larten stated, Arra's dead arm wrapped tight around his body whilst he interlocked their fingers and squeezed them tightly till his knuckles turned white. "You do not scare me." His teeth were chattering terribly, sweat pouring from his forehead. He felt sick, particularly as the beasts approached and all he could do was lay and wait for death, if he was lucky.

As his heart accelerated, his hold on Arra's hand intensified and he could feel a scream build up in his throat.

"I'm not scared," he attempted to say, having to use contractions just to choke out his words. Panic flared in the bit of his stomach and he desperately tried to remain calm and collected, imagining himself to be a mouse trapped between two paws of a cat which was looking on expectantly, wanting a game of chase.

**=x8x=**

Gavner helped conceal Darren under a few ferns, smearing mud into his cheeks. "I'll lead them off, you get Larten. There's a farm house literally two miles away. I'll meet you there once I've led these bastards away," he informed, handing Darren a damp map which he had tucked into his pants after he and Larten were forced to flee from the truck without Arrow.

Arrow…

If the bites he'd received hadn't been fatal then he would have made a monster of a zombie to try and kill. Gavner was respectful always of his prince but that didn't stop him fearing him. The thought of that man out baying for blood was heart-stoppingly terrifying.

"You understand that, Darren. Get Larten and hide there. That's where I will get you. Promise me you'll both get away. Darren? Darren I need you to nod and look at me, okay? I need you to be alert."

Gavner lightly rubbed the boy's back, able to see how stone stiff terrified he was. Still, the kid was a trooper and nodded.

"Right. I'll whilst then you go for him and run like hell. Here," Gavner handed over a small pistol, the only weapon they had after their sudden evacuation and dip into the water, "It's the only one that's not water logged. There's only two bullets…"

Darren nodded, taking the gun. He knew exactly who the two bullets were for.

"Fuck, Darren. Just get Larten and go. If I'm not at the farm house by sunrise then don't wait up, okay? Do what you have to do to survive this." Gavner wrapped Darren up in his beefy arms then left, charging to where Larten was circled.

As he ran through the forest, he roared loudly, making as much noise as possible, throwing rocks and stomping on dry leaves. "Hey! Uglies! Come chase me you dirty cunts! Hey! Fresh meat!"

He arrived into the clearing, Larten's head snapping up over Arra's corpse, a confused expression on his face.

"Gavne-"

"Hey! You! Ugly bastards!" Gavner called, flipping two middle fingers up to the high heavens before adding under his breath, "Fucking **YOLO.**"

And off he ran.

**=x8x=**

Larten couldn't compute what had happened. Gavner was…alive? Well, probably not for long. Larten was dead prey but Gavner was alive and bouncing so almost instantly the beasts went for him, screaming loudly and running relentlessly through the foliage.

Slowly, and in blistering agony, Larten tried to sit up, tears streaming down his face as his leg erupted in flames. He lay back down and took in several deep breaths, head rested against Arra's belly which was just fine by him.

A whistle echoed through the entire forest, catching Larten's attention. He shrugged it off as nothing till a small figure darted out of the woods and towards him.

"Darren?" Larten gasped in astonishment. They both had survived the drop as well!

When Darren dragged Larten to his feet and charged a few yards forward, Larten shrieked bloody murder and pushed himself from his Assistant's grasped, dropping hard on the floor and in tears. He caught sight of his ankle and felt faint.

"What the hell!" Darren shouted angrily, going to pick Larten back up, "We need to go now!"

"Darren, my ankle," Larten gasped, pointing down at the broken, useless, piece of flesh, "I cannot run on it,"

Darren's face was filled with instant guilt as he examined the shared white bone which had ripped through his skin just above his shin. He was still bleeding and it looked horrifically sore.

"Just leave me here, Darren. Leave me with Arra," Larten ordered, "You stand a chance at least but I do not," He growled when Darren ripped off his jumper sleeve and approached the wound, "Darren, leave. Do not be stubborn for once in your li-"

"Shut up!" Darren snapped at his mentor, glaring furiously at him, "Just Shut up! I'm not leaving you, end of." With that, he wrapped the sleeve tight around the wound, Larten crying out in agony as he wrapped it tight. More damage was probably made but at least the blood wouldn't leave a trail.

Larten sighed through the immense pain, gritting his teeth as Darren offered out his hand. With a lot of effort, Larten stood on his one leg, snaking an arm around Darren's shoulder and leaning on him whilst Darren held him up close around the waist.

"We're gonna go slowly, okay?" Darren stated, looking up at his mentor with the same firmness Gavner had to him only moments ago, "Mr Crepsley? Larten? I need you to nod and look at me, okay? I need you to be alert."

Larten grinned weakly, hopping forward one step with Darren following him, "Do not be patronizing, Darren. I am alert."

"You aren't scared?" Darren frowned, frowning at the weight of the vampire. When Larten shook his head, Darren grumbled, "Well I am. And I hope you know I still don't like you. I just need to be able to have someone to outrun if we get caught. And with your leg like that…" Darren stated, lying though.

In truth, he was too afraid to be alone and even his mentor was good company at the moment. As silence befell them, they hobbled onwards without trouble, finding the farm house and breaking inside where they sat, hidden in a small upstairs bedroom in the back, in complete silence.

Neither was hopeful of Gavner's return.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten;_ friendship_

Darren slowly ventured downstairs, the gun in his hand as he took each step as silently as could. Once at the bottom, he took a few deep gulps and hurriedly walked past the front door. Creeping into the living room next, he closed all the curtains before heading into the kitchen where he, again, closed all the blinds and even dragged the over turned dining table up against the backdoor.

"Are you alright, Darren?" Larten called in a low whisper from upstairs. He was starting to turn an off green colour which was panicking Darren a little; that wound was clearly becoming infected and an infection during a zombie apocalypse was hilariously fatal; of all the things!

Not able to find his voice as he crept around the kitchen, Darren continued to rummage around till he found what he was looking for; Nurofen, a few tins of soup and a large bottle which he filled with water.

He was thankful to be back with Larten in the tiny back bedroom. The orange haired vampire was curled up on himself, his fucked ankle out on Darren's jacket. It was still bleeding which was having a bad effect on Mr Crepsley; he was shaky and paler than normal.

"Here," Darren nodded, closing the door behind himself and helping him sit up and offering him the pain relief and the bottle to drink the pills down with.

"What are these?" Larten asked weakly once he had swallowed them after a few attempts and a lot of water.

"Nurofen. The dosage is two 200g pills but I've given you four. Can't see what harm it'll do to you," Darren said with a slight smile, Larten nodding and smiling meekly back, "Still feeling sick? I brought soup up,"

Larten nodded, slowly lowering himself back down with a grunt.

They were silent for a moment, neither saying anything as Darren used his nails and teeth to break into the weak metal lid of the soup. Realizing he hadn't remembered spoons, he lifted the tin to his lips and took a gulp. As a boy he had loved his mother's lentil soup but this stuff was just nasty, especially when it was cold.

"You should leave me, Darren. Allow me one of those bullets and take the other with you," Larten said softly, staring directly above him as though he were staring out upon Paradise.

"Don't be silly. Gav will be back soon then we're going to go out and look for Arrow," Darren smiled, helping Larten sit up again, holding him up as he took a little sip of the soup. His stomach was unsettled but both he and Darren knew food was a necessity to help keep his body strong. Though blood would have been better for them both…

"Arrow is dead now," Larten growled, his head swimming with pictures for the fight…

**=x8x=**

It had been as though that entire moment had been looked at from someone else's point of view. Like he had been watching a movie starring himself from a distance, the screen tinted a bloody red.

That bark that woke them had been terrifying. Larten had woken instantly, face to face with a snarling, bloody jawed man a few years younger in appearance to himself. That long black, matted hair was slicked back with mud and black congealed blood whilst those eyes, those horrible red and hungry eyes, glared deep into Larten's very soul. His lips had peeled back revealing two slightly pointed fangs. Mika had been a mean bastard to Larten ever since he stole Arra's heart, but never once would Larten wish such a horrible plague upon the man.

The two had stared at each other for what felt like hours, Larten searching Mika's eyes for signs of recognition. All he could see, however, was pure, unkempt hatred. Hunger. It was hunger, Larten was sure now. Mika's oozing, bloody eyes were alit with bloodlust which could be cured only by ripping the very heart from Larten's chest.

Gavner's curse woke the snoring Arrow and activated the events that followed.

Mika slammed his head against the glass, breaking it the second time round. When he lunged forward for Larten, the vampire could see that the glass had cut open his forehead and cheeks, shards poking out from his eyebrow.

In panic, Larten threw his backpack up and used it as a shield to protect himself from those lethal jowls which he could feel ripping the bag to shreds.

Arrow cocked his gun but seemed unable to take his eyes off what was in front of him. When Larten looked up he felt all sense of hope flood from his body. They were surrounded, completely surrounded. Those bastards were charging towards the car, alerted by the shrieking made by whoever Gavner was fending off at his side of the car.

Arrow aimed his gun and fired, the car's windscreen smashing into mere dust as the Prince looked onwards at the advancing foes with vengeance.

"You two run," Arrow growled under his breath as he climbed out the car window.

"Arro-"

"_**RUN**_!" Arrow ordered, firing his gun at the beast beside Gavner. As the door became safe to open, Gavner looked across at Larten who was struggling to barricade himself from Mika's ferocious teeth. They both stared wordlessly up at Arrow who fired a second, third and four shot, a few beasts dropping but more swiftly appearing to take their place. "_**Get your arses out of here you fucking idiots! RUN! NOW**_!"

Gavner had his hand on the car door, looking at Larten to see if he was ready to make the dash to freedom when, suddenly, Mika seemed to disappear from Larten's side.

Arrow let out a gasping wheeze as Mika leapt for his former fellow Prince and closet friend, jaws snapping around Arrow's neck and biting deep.

Larten watched in utter horror as Arrow seemed to recognize the beast as his friend, shaky bear like hands lightly being placed around Mika's head. Arrow almost cradled his vicious friend as he mauled him, deciding, perhaps, that like Larten and Arra, he didn't want his buddy to suffer this monstrosity of a life alone.

Though Larten had little time to dwell on philosophy at that given moment as Gavner grabbed tight hold of his hand and pulled him out of the car, the two running like hell into the woods, begging that Darren and Arra, wherever they had gone, didn't bump into them on the way as the onslaught of monsters ploughed after them in a frantic huddle…

**=x8x=**

Darren rubbed Larten's back when he grew silent, more than aware that he was remembering what had happened back in the car. His bloody hand reached out for the bottle of water and he drank deeply, wiping his brow before laying back down.

"It is going on sunrise…" Larten said weakly, sunlight starting to appear out of the bedroom window. Gavner hadn't come. He hadn't made it.

"He said we shouldn't wait any longer than sunrise. Maybe we should move?"

"You should move," Larten commented under his breath.

"I'm not leaving you," Darren said firmly.

"I wish you were not so stubborn! I am not going to make it, Darren. Why can you not see it!" Larten shouted angrily, glaring at Darren before his face softened.

Darren was crying, biting his lip as he tried not to let out a gasping noise. It broke Larten's heart.

Both he and his assistant had never seen eye to eye. They loathed the fact that fate had led them to each other, despised how stubborn and temperamental the each other's loyalties could be.

Yet now Larten couldn't help but hold out his arms and bury his own face into Darren's shoulder, the boy doing the same. Larten could feel how tightly Darren clung to him, quaking with fear.

It was in that moment that Darren could also feel Larten's guard dropping and he felt his t-shirt starting to become wet with tears. At that, the power shifted and it became Darren who was holding his mentor.

"They are all dead, Darren," Larten sobbed, "Everyone. Seba, Mika, Arrow, Arra, Gavner. They are all gone. What if it is just us now? What if we are the only people out there who are not infected?"

"We can't be," Darren cried against his mentor's neck, "Don't think like that! Don't think like that!"

"We are, aren't we, Darren? We're the last snivelling people alive! I know it. I just know it," Larten's speech went to buggery, no longer caring about how he sounded. If this was to be his last conversation then he wanted it to be without conditioned worry of Seba's disapproval.

"I…I don't know," Darren shook, "Mr Crepsle-"

"Call me Larten, Darren, please."

"L…Larten, I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. If I'd known that we didn't have long before this apocalypse then I would have treated you nicely. I swear. I'm real sorry," Darren admitted with a choked whine, "I'm so sorry,"

"I'm sorry too, Darren. I should never have taken you from your mother and father and your little sister," Larten replied, squeezing Darren tightly, "Thank you for not leaving me when I asked. Thank you so so much, Darren. I always knew that when the chips were down you would be a worthy ally,"

"I wouldn't ever leave you. I can't even look after your bloody pet spider let alone myself!" Darren laughed a little, feeling Larten smile at the thought. "So stop telling me to go. We're in this together, you and me. I'm not leaving you alone. If we die, we die together. If we survive then we survive but we wont know if we'll make it if we don't try,"

Larten pulled away, eyes red and cheeks glistened with tears. "Thank you, Darren, thank you,"

"Mr Crepsley, are you scared?" Darren asked softly, squeezing Larten's kneecap gently. When he saw the feeble nod of the strongest, the sharpest minded brave man he had ever met, he knew they were going to be goners, wither they remained at the house or attempted to flee.

Nothing was going to save them.

**I wasn't happy with the last chapter –it just didn't read as well as I think the other chapters did. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe I'm right but I put a lot more effort into this one. More Gore, more desperation and a little bit of fear induced fluff. Hopefully it's alright!**

**This is the second last chapter too. I'm trying to have this fiction finished for my holiday in eight days –Eight days till sunny Queensland! Gold Coast peeps! Whoo hoo!**

**Preston **


	11. Chapter 11

(I find it easier to read shorter chapters on here so I've cut down the length of this entire chapter to make a series of smaller ones. Don't worry about multiple reviews or anything; I wouldn't. If you could spare one at the end to tell me how you found this last section/story as a whole, I would really appreciate it Hope you enjoy anyways!)

-line-

**Chapter eleven; **_**Infection.**_

Bloody, exhausted, burning under the noon sun, Gavner charged through the countryside. His breathing was haggard but adrenaline kept him going, kept him head of the screaming pack that dogged his heels.

"Fuck," he wheezed with difficulty, sweat stinging his eyes as he flung his bleeding leg forward. With every step he took he could see that wound.

The teeth marks were no longer noticeable, covered with a swell of blood that kept coming. He wanted to shriek out loudly in utter distraught.

He'd been **bitten.**

He had the _**infection.**_

_**Infection.**_

Fuck, he was going to become one of those monsters. He was going to start hurting others.

Tears fell from Gavner's eyes. Hurriedly, he swiped them with his fist, glancing down at his hand and shrieking in terror; he was crying red. He was crying blood!

Suddenly, he started to notice everything had a red twinge to it suddenly. From out of nowhere, almost, everything had a slight crimson outline to it; trees, clouds, grass, farm house.

That was where he was headed; the farm house. Larten and Darren should have left by now. That was the plan; wait till sun rise then make a run for it if Gavner hadn't shown up. Well, it was noon now so they should have a few hundred miles if Larten flitted.

The farm house may seem like a strange place to head to but Gavner had a plan; he would write a warning note to any others who stumbled upon the house then barricade himself inside where he would turn and, eventually –hopefully- die without infecting anyone. That was the master plan. That was the ideal outcome; prevent further contamination.

He flung his burning legs onwards, gaining a good distance between himself and the blood thirsty pack behind him. The patio was covered in an instant, as were the stairs leading up to the front door.

It was when he threw himself in, however, that his entire plan burned into hellish flames.

"**FUCK!"**

**=x8x=**

Darren was overjoyed at the initial sight of Gavner, having near wet himself with fright when the door was flung open. In his hands he had once held two plates of crisps and sandwiches but now both plates were shards of broken porcelain upon the floor.

"Darren? Are you alright? Darren?" Larten called from their room upstairs, still not strong enough to venture further than the adjacent bathroom with Darren's help, something that was a little embarrassing for them both to contend with.

"Yeah, I am Mr Crepsley! Gavner's her-"

Gavner slammed the door shut noisily, grabbing the sofa and dragging it up against it then taking the dining table and placing it against the glass window.

Darren's eyes went wide and he began to shake, the distant howl of those monsters sending the fear of god into the half vampire.

"Get up the stairs now!" Gavner ordered, removing the rifle strapped around his shoulder and loaded it with ammo he'd stolen from a dead human along with the gun itself. In military like fashion, he went through the house and used anything and everything to fortify the building before heading upstairs, his leg throbbing and making him want to vomit with nausea.

_**He was infected…**_

As he neared where he could smell Larten and Darren, Gavner peered out of a landing window and almost moaned as what looked like hundreds of raged filled monsters appeared in a swarm over a distant hill, no doubt smelling Gavner's trail.

_**He'd doomed his friends…**_

"Gavner?" Larten called out worriedly.

Gavner cursed and entered the room his friends were held up in, closing the door before sinking onto his backside with a loud groan. He buried his head in his hands, cursing himself quietly.

"Gav? Are you alr-"

"I've ballsed up big time, Larten. I'm so sorry," Gavner said with a shuddering breath, "I've led them here and-" He couldn't finish the rest. How he'd stumbled and met the fatal jaws of an opportunistic zombie-fucker.

It was obvious, however, as fresh bloody tears fell from his eyes, staining those once white cheeks a pinky colour.

"How long do you have before…?" Larten asked weakly, Darren hiding behind him in utter terror.

"I don't know, Larten, but right now you're just a red haze to me so I'm guessing soon." Gavner laughed a little, shocked when he felt Larten pull him into an embrace.

"You fool," he laughed in Gavner's ear, pulling back and smiling at the boy he'd helped raise into a man, "You were always too friendly with strangers. Always wanting to get to know new people and, now look, you have been bitten!"

Gavner smirked a little at that, glad Larten saw humour in the situation; if Gavner was going to die he wanted it to be with a 'Haha-BoomBoom!'

He handed Larten his rifle and nodded, "You'll need to shoot me when I change."

"You will not change, Gav. I know you too well. You would never hurt Darren or I," Larten said with a nod, not accepting the gun and sitting back against the wall beside Darren, "We were going to leave this building but my leg…"

"Clumsy ox snapped it clean in half," Darren muttered softly, cuddled in under Larten's arm.

That saw Gavner laughing heartedly before gasping for breath, leaning into the side and coughing up thick, black blood. The room went ice cold for a moment before Gavner waved their concerns away, "I'm still here," he said with a nod, leaning back against the door frame.

Outside, the threesome could hear the beasts charging at the house, desperate to get in, shouldering the door and windows. Gavner could hear their frustrated roars of anger and frustration as the blockade bettered them for a moment.

That moment dragged on for a long time.

The silence of the group was only broken up by Gavner's body making painful gurgles and wheezes. The sound of a table toppling over caused them all to pale, everyone taking in deep breaths to steady their nerves.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve; **_**farewell**_

"I guess this is it, uh?" Darren commented, "We're going to die now."

Both vampires didn't respond to him, Larten and Gavner staring out of the window through squinted eyes. The sun was burning down upon them, a beautiful summers day which failed to reflect how defeated they all felt.

"Darren, I want you to make a run for it," Larten ordered, using the wall to climb up and onto his good foot, silently hobbling over to the window and peeking out. Those zombie bastards were everywhere but it was Darren's only shot at surviving. "You can get away but Gavner and I cannot,"

"I'm not leaving you! We said we'd stay together!" Darren shouted, a roar downstairs answering him as the horde ploughed their way into the house in search of the stowaways, "Please, Larten, please, I'm not going anywhere without you."

Larten squeezed his eyes shut, hearing the monsters charging up the stairs, destroying everything as they passed. "Darren, you have to go. I will throw you outside if I have to! This is your only chance at life. You could survive. Please, be reasonable!"

"Never!" Darren shouted, shoving Larten back from him, "You touch me and I'll kill you faster than those bastards downstairs!"

"Darren! Stop being such a chil-"

"Larten, go with him," Gavner commented, cocking the pistol he'd given Darren the previous evening.

"Gavner, you cannot stay on your own," Larten growled.

"The hell I can't! I'm barely keeping myself together, Lart-" he stopped to throw up violently once more, "I'll cover for you up here. I'm a good shot," he said as he lifted up the rifle from the floor, "I can give you cover to flee."

"Gavner, I will not make it far enough with my leg," Larten argued, though sound of the stairs cracking did nothing to steady his nerves. In truth, Larten wanted to run, he didn't want to fight. His only obligation to stay would be to keep Darren safe and Darren refused to go unless he went to.

With sad eyes, Larten stood straight and saluted Gavner, "You are a fine Vampire, Gavner. A true friend,"

"As are you, Crepsley," Gavner bowed, "You would have made a fine Prince if ever you accepted the invitation. I would have followed you,"

Larten chuckled at that, shaking his head as he limped over to the window with Darren's aid, gripping the boy's shoulder as he unlocked the latch.

They all exchanged one last glance and a soft smile, a silent farewell before Larten made the first jump. Darren followed swiftly behind, landing on his feet in a crouch.

The minute they hit the floor, Zombies went for them but Gavner was faster.

**One fell with a bullet to the head.**

**A second. **

A third thought about going for them then spied Gavner and ran inside to follow the rest of the mad bastards downstairs baying for his blood. He used a dressing table to barricade himself in as he focused entirely on his friends.

**Another bastard went down.**

He used the pistol Larten and Darren had left behind, killing another two in closer range before reloading the rifle and continuing to fire for his friends, hope swelling in his chest as they cleared the main farm land and headed towards the hill.

Licking his lips, he could see nothing now but the black figures of Larten and Darren. The rest was as red as the blood leaking from the corner of his mouth and from his crying eyes. His head was pulsing, about to explode but he remained focused regardless.

Only when the change fell upon him did he drop the gun. In a savage rage, he turned round as the door broke down and the beasts charged forwards.

However, rather join them and go through the window after Larten and Darren, he let out a ferocious snarl. With mighty power projecting him forward, Gavner leapt for the leader of the pack and met him with his fangs, the world going red as he lost his mind, ripping into the pack before becoming overwhelmed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen; **_**Freedom**_

Larten was being dragged along by Darren, the boy pulling his mentor forward in desperation to not let Gavner's life go to waste. Larten had to literally swing his good leg forward to stand a hope in hell of keeping up with Darren.

Their boots echoed over the cobbled farm as they sprinted as quickly as they could, eyes set on the open green plain and the distant grassy hill.

The sunshine blinded Larten, the older vampire having to heavily rely on Darren to lead them towards safety.

Above them they could hear Gavner shooting, the sounds of screaming and bodies thumping to the ground. Both couldn't afford to stop running to look back and so had to put all of their trust in Gavner to keep them from being bitten.

No longer were they covered, however. The shooting had stopped but the screaming seemed to get louder, as though a riot were breaking out amongst the pack. Larten tried to connect mentally with Gavner but felt nothing but a pulsing heat burn through his nervous system; Gavner had, metaphocically, logged out of Larten's internal Wi-Fi.

"Darren," Larten wheezed, looking on ahead and pointing out a shaking finger out before them.

Suddenly, a monstrous green nozzle peered over the hill. With a loud roar of caterpillar tracks, a tank suddenly rose up and over the slight undulating mound.

A _tank_!

Darren couldn't believe it, charging towards the thing with a sudden second wind bursting through his muscles.

Behind it followed snarling German shepherd dogs on tight leads, dragging human soldiers behind them.

"Duck!" Larten roared loudly, throwing them both to the floor and climbing on top of Darren's body. He frantically waved his hands up above their bodies as a sign of surrender but also to show that they were uninfected by the rage inducing disease.

An explosion sounded as the tank fired at the house, causing almost instant damage and screams from the beasts. The dogs were released too, though they didn't pay Larten and Darren attention as they charged to what they'd been trained to kill; Zombie scum. A few soldiers advanced with machine guns strapped to their shoulders, firing at any creature which tried to escape the dogs.

The tank passed them also, mowing down yet more bodies as a second shell was fired followed by the sounds of the building tearing down completely.

Darren was trying to peek out from under Mr. Crepsley's chest but the vampire held him firmly to the ground, shielding him with all his strength. The ground was vibrating as the tank kept going, a third explosion sending shivers down Darren's spine.

"What's going on?" Darren grumbled against the soil.

"The human army have come," Larten mumbled back before saying louder with obvious relief, "The fucking human army are here!" When Darren tried to crawl out, Larten growled, "Stay low; they might shoot us down righ-"

"Larten!"

Ahead, coming out of an armour plated biohazard truck, two men appeared, jogging over to Larten and Darren at speed. They seemed to not bother about the bullets tearing out and slaying the beasts that continued to fight a losing battle with the army.

From under Larten's jaw, Darren could only just make out the men.

Both were dressed in mere rags, covered in dirt and blood with gazes up their thighs and across their arms and cheeks. One man in particular seemed to look worse; horrible green hair with animal pelts merely clinging to his body by rope.

The man beside him was caked in thick mud, eyes squinting out. Darren could make out a slight tint of red hidden under those thick lashes, as well as a slight purple mark under his neck where the mud had crumbled off him. That was when Darren realized neither were human, but they were certainly not murderous beasts.

"V-Vancha?" Larten gasped, feeling himself being hauled off his feet by the Prince and wrapped tightly up into an embrace.

"I thought I sensed you! You sly old dog! How are you?" Vancha grinned, dropping Larten and slapping his chops hard as he studied his friend's bloody, bearded chops.

"Surviving," Larten nodded with a weak smile, leaning onto Darren for support.

"Larten, this is my brother, Gannen," Vancha said as Gannen offered out his hand.

Larten accepted it with a dazed expression, pinching his side; this didn't seem real. "This is my assistant, Darren," he finally said, the shock apparent in his voice.

Vancha and Gannen both nodded a welcome at the boy who held his mentor upright.

"The humans are taking us and a bunch of other survivors to a military compound down south, someplace safe," Gannen nodded back towards the biohazard truck as he spoke, "Do you want to come?"

"Yes," Darren stated before Larten, nodding firmly up at Gannen and Vancha.

"is it just you?" Vancha asked, biting his lip when the two before him grew silent and nodded miserably.

**Kurda.**

**Arrow.**

**Mika.**

**Arra.**

**Gavner.**

Larten knew not of Seba, he could not track his mental frequency and so prayed that his mentor was clever enough to have committed suicide rather than allow himself to be turned.

"Well," Vanch nodded, stretching out his arm for Larten to lean on, "At least somebody made it. Come on. Lets get you inside with the others,"

Larten and Darren looked down at each other in an almost daze, slowly looking back to where once a farm house stood in which a brave man had fought to allow them this freedom. The human army were now burning all of the corpses, making sure nothing survived. The dogs were beginning to come back to their masters which suggested that perhaps all of the beasts in this particular area had perished.

Both gulping in sync, Darren took Larten's hand and the two made their way slowly to the biohazard truck, in complete and utter shock as they joined a few other people in the back who were lying unconscious from Vancha and Gannen knocking them out to feed from their unaffected veins.

Nothing seemed real to Darren in that moment as he sat beside his mentor who was feeding from a human male hungrily; Gannen having to drag him off when bloodlust threatened to overtake Larten's thirst. It was like the last few days had never happened or rather they had been shot by the humans and this was their truck to Paradise with Gannen and Vancha.

However they got here, Darren was glad he'd managed to get there with his orange haired friend. Like Vancha had said;

"_**At least somebody made it."**_

((Going to have one last chapter, a sort of 'three months later' sort of thing I think :) Do tell me how you found this. I wasn't quite sure how to end this chapter at all so I took inspiration from my all time favourite Zombie movies haha :/ Hope this is alright))


End file.
